RB JAMAAL CHARLES
Q: Yesterday Peyton Hillis called you a Ferrari and he said he was a 1972 El Camino. Do you think that’s accurate?

CHARLES: “He’s kind of right, compared to me he’s like a big truck to me, a big monster truck and I’m more like a Lamborghini.”

Q: Do you even know what an El Camino is? It’s from a long time ago?

CHARLES: “No. What is it?”

Q: It’s a hybrid car-truck. It’s car with a truck bed on the back?

CHARLES: “Somebody cut a car and then they added a truck on the back? [laughing]”

Q: If he’s back on Sunday, what does that do for the running game?

CHARLES: “It just helps out the team. He’s been a playmaker in Cleveland and so [with him] we’ll have another playmaker in the backfield.”

Q: Do you have to be around for a year to fully understand what Raider Week is and what that means? If you’re a young guy, do you necessarily know that when you first get here?

CHARLES: “Yeah, you’ve got to have some experience, because the tradition between the Raiders and the Chiefs is just something different. If you’ve been here for awhile you know how much it means to be playing against the Raiders every year.”

Q: Is that like a Texas-Texas A&M rivalry or what?

CHARLES: “It’s like Texas and Oklahoma. You know they’re going to bring their everything. And the type of game it’s going to be. It’s always been a close game every time we’ve played them.”

OL JON ASAMOAH
Q: How do you react when they play physical or play dirty?

ASAMOAH: “You’ve got to be smart but you’ve also got to be aggressive and physical. When you get a bully-type guy you’ve got to come right back at them or they’ll really get into it.”

Q: Seeing them on tape, what have you seen that’s the same or different from last year?

ASAMOAH: “Looking at the front four guys, they’re still the same guys – physical, aggressive, creating problems. So we have to shut them down.”

Q: Is there an opportunity where you can impose your will in terms of the run game?

ASAMOAH: “We’ve just got to play our game. In the run game we have to be aggressive, come off the ball and just really attack them and things will open up for us.”

S KENDRICK LEWIS
Q: Last year you played the Raiders when Carson Palmer had just gotten there and he didn’t do too well. What has he done to improve since then?

LEWIS: “I think he’s more comfortable, relaxed, he knows the offense. You can tell he’s got a grasp on the offense, rather than when we caught him when he was just coming in the first couple days there, now he’s feeling like he’s settled in, he knows where his players are going to be. That’s the sense that I get from the film. He knows what he’s doing, he’s knows where the players are at, he knows where playmakers are, so now it’s a matter of him getting them the ball.”

Q: You’ve been in this Raiders-Chiefs rivalry for a few years now. Do you feel that rivalry and dislike?

LEWIS: “Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s big. Chiefs and the Raiders have played together more games than the Chiefs have played anybody else. We know what this rivalry means to us, to the fans, to this organization. So it’s a matter of just going out there and getting a win for this organization knowing our history with the Oakland Raiders.”

Q: And they’ve won quite a few games here recently? You’re trying to change that?

LEWIS: “Absolutely. Coach spoke up on that earlier today and said what their win percentage was here at Arrowhead. We just put it in our minds that we’ve got to get that changed and changed fast.”

Q: How different is it playing the Raiders versus playing another AFC West team?

LEWIS: “I wouldn’t say it’s different, it’s just a bigger rivalry. It means more to our fans, to our organization, it means more. As a division, we want to play and beat everybody. This one just means more because of our history, the guys who came and played before us, what it meant to them. That’s what makes it so good.”

LB DERRICK JOHNSON
Q: Do you have to be a Chief for at least a year or a few years to fully understand what it means to play the Raiders?

JOHNSON: “You at least have to be a Chief for one year, one year at least, just to go through the atmosphere, how crazy it is, fan-to-fan, and just see how our fans stand up and come out and support us for Raider Week. Traditionally it’s just a big game. It’s traditionally a physical game. From a defensive standpoint I just can’t wait to play them.”

Q: What do you think of the new sign outside the locker room that says ‘Play Good Football?’ Do you guys pay attention to that stuff?

JOHNSON: “Yeah. Coach Romeo always tells us to eliminate bad football and that will help our record. That will help the morale of the team. We can’t let other teams come in here and capitalize off our mistakes. We have to cut down our mistakes and speaking from the defensive side of the ball, we just have to come out relentless. We’ve got to come out like crazy dogs and go out and play.”

Q: But there is a new sign that says ‘Play Good Football,’ the “Eliminate Bad Football” sign is down?

JOHNSON: “There are a lot of changes going around. Somehow we need to get back to winning and we need to do it this week. We have to.”

Q: How important is it for you guys to contain Darren McFadden?

JOHNSON: “Darren McFadden is one of the better running backs in the league. He’s big and fast, so he can take it 80 yards or he can get you the tough five yards if you need it. He runs between the tackles and he runs outside and catches the ball all the time. He’s second or third leading in pass receptions. So they get the ball to him and he’s definitely going to be a key to stopping their offense and we’ll definitely have to have our antennas up on him.”